Phoenix
by Katsscratch
Summary: Shaya is Zuko's best friend since they were kids. When Zuko gets banished she joins him on his task to find the avatar. On their journey across the world she sees all the torment the Firenation is causing the other nations and she starts to doubt their quest...
1. History

**History**

 **Summer 92 AG**

"Zuko, look a dragon!" Shaya shouted. The eight year old boy turned around excited to see his playmate lying in the grass pointing up into the sky. He looked up and his expression turned from excitement to disappointment.

"That's only a cloud" he exclaimed frustrated.

"No, look those are his wings" she explained while pointing at two parts of the cloud which actually looked like wings if you tried a bit harder to imagine it "and that's its tail!"

Zuko sighed. She was playing her games again, and because he knew she wouldn't quit about the so called dragon anytime soon he played along. She looked at him for a second when he lied down next to her before she turned her attention back to the sky and smiled.

"The dragon has a friend, can you see him?" she asked. Zuko tried to see what she was seeing. There was another cloud. It was big and fluffy, two round shapes that merged into each other with six limbs around it.

"That one?" he asked hesitantly. She nodded. "That doesn't look like a dragon" he declared. She giggled.

"Of course it's not a dragon, silly. It's a sky bison" she said as if it were obvious.

Zuko turned his head to her in confusion. "A what?" Shaya sat up and shook her head so the loose grass would fall out of her long black hair.

"It's a giant fluffy animal with an arrow on its head and it can fly" she said, making a large expression with her arms. Zuko scoffed.

"You're making that up! Sky bison don't exist" he declared with a pout. She got a little offended.

"Yes they do. Are you calling me a liar?" She looked hurt. "I've seen a picture in one of dad's books"

"That was just a fairytale" Zuko said. He was looking away now.

"No it wasn't! It was about airbenders who rode through the sky on their giant sky bison. Did you know Airnomads can fly on their own too?" She asked excited. Zuko merely rolled his eyes at her.

"Humans can't fly, they don't have wings"

"They have airbending" she replied with a smug smile.

"It doesn't matter anyway, my father said they were extinct" That comment struck Shaya with sadness.

"What happened to them?" she asked. The boy pulled his shoulders up.

"I don't know" he lied. He did, though, but if he'd told her she would have gotten upset. Luckily their conversation was interrupted when someone approached them in the turtleduck garden. Shaya beamed when she saw who it was.

"Lu Ten, you're back!" Shaya said jumping onto her feet. Zuko followed.

Iroh's son had been gone on a mission for two months. He had been expected to come this week but he was two days early.

"Hey kiddo, how're you doing?" he smiled at the girl and embraced her when she jumped into his arms.

Shaya visited the palace every time her father would meet up with general Iroh for a cup of tea. She had known Lu Ten and the rest of the family all her life.

Lu Ten let her down when Zuko approached. He came to stand in front of him stood straight and saluted proudly.

"Lieutenant" he said.

"Soldier" Lu Ten gave back and saluted too. Zuko soon cracked a smile and hugged his cousin as well. Lu Ten laughed. "You kids know where my father is?" Both children nodded eagerly.

"He's in the small living room with my dad. I think they're still playing pai sho" Shaya said. Lu Ten chuckled.

"Shouldn't surprise me" he replied and the kids laughed.

* * *

 **End of winter 94 AG**

"You're a good kid, Shaya" her father said patting the messy black curls on her head. "I will write as often as I can and when I return we'll go on a long vacation to Ember Island"

Shaya pouted at the man kneeling before her. "Don't go, dad. Or let me come with you at least!" she pleaded. Her eyes were stinging, but she refused to cry in front of her father.

"A battle field is no place for a little girl, Shaya. I'm sure princess Ursa will take good care of you while I'm in the Earth Kingdom. Besides, you can play with the princess every day!" he said with a smile. Shaya scoffed loudly, so the surrounding soldiers on the docks could hear it.

"I don't even like princess Azula!" she complained. Her father shushed her to not speak of the princess like that.

"Well, then you'll play with prince Zuko instead" he offered. She couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Will you be back before my birthday?" she asked. The man sighed. He wanted to say yes, but he knew the siege would take longer than that and the General would need him at all times.

"I'll try to be back as soon as possible" he promised instead. It wasn't enough for Shaya, but she couldn't argue any longer. The General had arrived by her father's side.

"Are you ready to leave" Iroh asked and slapped the other man's shoulder. Shaya's father nodded. He smiled at his daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he raised.

"Be a good kid, Shaya" he said before he stepped aboard the ship. From the docks she waved goodbye until the ship disappeared on the horizon. Ursa and her children were waiting as well to take her back with them to the palace.

"Your father will be fine" Ursa assured her while she put an arm around the girls shoulder.

When Iroh had asked Shaya's father to join him at the siege of Ba Sing Se he had made sure the girl could stay at the palace with his brother's family. Her father had been very good friends with Iroh ever since they were kids and since they lived in the capital the visited the palace very often.

Shaya's mother had died giving birth to her which left the girl alone with her father. Due to his high rank in the military he was gone a lot as well. The girl would stay at the palace every time he was gone for a longer period of time, but this time was different…

* * *

 **95 AG**

Shaya had enjoyed herself at the palace the last year. She had played with Zuko and sometimes even with Azula and her friends. She had met Mai and Ty Lee before, but since she lived at the palace she had gotten to know them better. Mai was alright, but Shaya thought of her as a little stoic. Ty Lee, on the other hand was great. The two girls became close friends, much to Azula's dislike. Shaya spent as much time with Ty Lee as she could. Which wasn't a lot, since Azula prevented it most of the time.

Her dad hadn't been able to be there on her tenth birthday, but he had sent her a present; a book called 'Ancient Lore and Stories from the Four Nations'. She loved it. Beside that he allowed her to take lessons in sword fighting now. She'd wanted to learn it ever since she saw Zuko train with Dao swords for the first time. Ursa had made sure there was cake and Zuko had even gotten her a present; a black leather bracelet with a red jade pendant. Two days later Ty Lee visited again and gave Shaya a friendship bracelet.

"I made it myself" she said, proudly pointing at the bracelet made of thin silver and leather strands. The pink and red strands were braided in a, what seemed, very complicated way. Shaya beamed when Ty Lee put it around her wrist, next to Zuko's bracelet.

"Look I have the same, but mine has more pink in it" Ty Lee added while she pointed at her own wrist.

"I'll never take it off, promise!" Shaya held up her pinky for Ty Lee to hook hers into. The girls giggled for some time, until Azula and Mai reached them. The moment was over too soon.

Shaya soon had her first lesson in swordsmanship from master Piandao. They trained with sticks at first. The master watched closely on how she used the wooden weapon to find out what kind of sword would fit her. She twirled the stick around a bit but only ever hit her target with the same end of it.

The training took about an hour before Piandao took her to the weaponry to try out some blades.

"Look around" he encouraged her. "Hold the swords and try out what fits you"

Shaya eagerly nodded. At first she seemed very fascinated by the spears rather than by the swords. After trying out a number of different broad swords and katana she stumbled upon a weapon she had only seen a very few times. It had a very long handle, much like the stick she'd trained with earlier. A broad blade was attached to one end of the stick. The blade was the same kind as that of a dao sword, except it was shorter.

"What is this?" she asked and held the weapon towards Piandao.

"It's a pu dao sword" he told her.

Most of the time Shaya was alone. It didn't bother her, though. She sometimes just needed time for herself. For that she would always choose the most abandoned places in the palace, she doubted even the Firelord himself knew of. She found secret chambers, climbed on the rooftops. Sometimes she would sit in the crown of the tree in the yard. Azula and her friends would play in on the ground without even noticing she was there. Shaya found herself making a game out of it. How long would it take them to notice her? Forever was the answer. They never noticed.

Zuko did once though when he walked past them. He said nothing, just smiled in amusement when she gave him a wink.

With Zuko she got along fine. They would often talk, or she would tell him made up stories or things she read in books. Zuko was a good listener, he didn't talk much himself though.

Shaya had firebending training with the prince and princess as well. Normally her father would train her, but since he wasn't there she learned from the royal master. She was an eager learner. If something didn't work she would keep trying until it did without ever growing frustrated. That was the great difference between her and Zuko.

He was at least as good in firebending as she was, only he was too impatient. Azula on the other hand, was a prodigy. It seemed like she didn't need any training at all. Shaya understood Zuko's frustration when she saw how much better his little sister was. She wouldn't talk to him about it, though, because it would only get him upset.

The Firelord himself, Shaya had never seen. She was curious though what he would be like. If he were more like Iroh or like Ozai. Secretly she hoped he was like Iroh. Prince Ozai scared her for some reason. He had these cold eyes just like Azula. It was strange, even though they were the same color as Zuko's they were entirely different.

Ozai also seemed very full of himself and she couldn't stand those kind of people. He would yell at servants like they weren't worth the dirt under his shoes, and he looked at Shaya the same way.

Although he would never admit it, she knew her father didn't like him either and that feeling seemed to be going both ways.

* * *

 **Beginning Winter**

Everything was fine until one day a letter with a black ribbon had arrived. Ursa had gathered the kids around her to tell them about the sad news, Lu Ten had died. Shaya was shocked about the news. When one day later a second letter arrived that first shock was forgotten. She was shattered, her chest had hurt so much she thought she might fall apart.

Ursa hadn't read this letter to her. She merely gave it to her in a private moment to read for herself. It was the kind of letters soldiers wrote for their family to be sent in case they fell in war.

 _My sweet Shaya,_

 _I know I've promised you to come back soon, but things have turned out differently. I would have never wanted to cause you this loss, but I am gone. I know that you will get through this. You are strong, just like your mother was. You have her beautiful honey eyes. And I would never want to see them sad, but I cannot change what has happened._

 _General Iroh will take good care of you, I am sure of that. I wish I could see you grow up, see how you become the great and strong person I'm sure you will be. Don't forget that I will always be with you. Your mother and I, we will always be watching over you._

 _I love you,_

 _I'm sorry,_

 _Your father_

There was a report attached to the letter. It said that her father had died of the consequences of an Earth Kingdom soldier's attack, three days earlier.

Ursa had stayed with the girl the whole time. The now crying Shaya was sitting on the ground, hopelessly shaking her head while Ursa caringly wrapped her arms around her.

Shaya didn't talk for five full weeks. She hid on the roof where no one would find her, most of the time. Sometimes she'd even fall asleep there and turned up just the next morning. She only noticed princess Ursa had disappeared three days after it happened. She found out the Firelord had died on the day of the funeral, where Ozai was crowned. She didn't attend the coronation.

The first time she said a word was when Iroh had returned. She heard him argue with his brother about her. Ozai wanted her gone, but Iroh wouldn't have it. He told him that he had promised her father to take care of her, and that was what he intended to do.

Shaya had waited in the other room for the Firelord's decision. He had given in eventually. When Iroh left the room he took her by the hand and left with her. She looked up at him and coughed a few times before she spoke.

"Thank you" she said, her voice hoarse from the lack of use. Iroh looked down at her and smiled sadly.

"Come on, let's have a cup of tea" he offered. She looked down at her feet but cracked a small smile. She would be okay.

Things were different now Ursa was gone, her father was dead and Ozai was Firelord. Most of all Zuko had changed under the circumstances. He talked less to Shaya and he didn't seem to want to have fun at all anymore.

When Shaya had asked him what was wrong he had turned around and said that there was no time for games anymore. He was the heir to the throne now and he had to prove that he was worthy of the responsibility. Shaya had scoffed at that and merely told him that he didn't have to become boring in order to be a good prince. He hadn't listened and walked away.

She would often sit with Iroh and talk about it.

"Zuko is under a lot of pressure lately. If he is impolite, I'm sure he doesn't mean that" the retired General told her.

She sighed into her tea cup. "I liked the old Zuko better" she admitted. At that Iroh chuckled.

"People change all the time, but deep down they're still the same" he assured. That gave him a look of confusion from the girl.

"How can people change but still be the same?"

"Maybe you'll understand it when you're older" he merely said. "Now what do you think of a game of pai sho?" Shaya gave him a smug look.

"You only want to play so I get my butt kicked" she replied, which earned her a chuckle from the older man.

Firebending training became different as well. Shaya wouldn't train with Zuko and Azula anymore, but alone. It became harder too. She seemed to cross her limits by every new technique she learned. It was the first time she got frustrated with training. More than once she had complained about it. It confused her, since she had no idea why her arcs of fire could never reach the size her teacher wanted. The techniques were all right, but her fire was too small. Iroh had decided to come watch her training a few times to see what was wrong, since her teacher didn't find an explanation either.

At the end of the last training hour he chuckled. This confused Shaya even more.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked. Iroh shook his head apologizing.

"Shang, would you mind bringing me one of the steel spears from the weaponry?" Iroh asked the teacher. He nodded and gave the general a respectful bow before he left.

"What do we need a spear for?" Shaya cocked her head in confusion. Iroh chuckled again.

"I want to test something. There might be a reason why your flames don't get bigger" He gave her a wink.

Shang came back with a spear, completely made of steel and put it in a hole in the ground to stand straight.

"Now, Shaya I need you to aim at the upper middle of the steel with a continuing stream of fire. It doesn't have to be big" Iroh instructed her. She took a basic stance in front of the spear before she sent her flames towards the target. Her fire had always been a little redder than yellow but this time it really glowed when it touched the steel. Within seconds the metal had molten and the upper half of the weapon fell to the ground.

"Extraordinary" Shang gasped with a hand on his mouth. Iroh smiled knowingly.

"Shaya, your flames are too small because you put so much energy in the heat instead of the size. You have a very strong chi" he explained to her. She nodded.

"And how do I change that?" Shaya didn't know quite so well if this was good or bad.

"We don't have to change it. You only need to learn to use it to your advantage" he said and blinked at her. "Come on, let us see what kinds of practice you need. Shang, you are dismissed" he waved towards the teacher before he took off with Shaya.

They spent the rest of the day in the library, reading scrolls on different techniques of heat control. That was when Iroh started to train her instead of the royal firebending master

* * *

 **97 AG**

The agni kai was set for later that afternoon. Iroh had asked her wether she wanted to stay home, but she insisted on coming with him. Shaya was scared for Zuko. She knew that he was a fairly good firebender, but still. An agni kai was serious business.

Iroh kept telling her that he was going to be fine, but the look on his face betrayed him. There was something he wasn't telling her and it seemed to scare him as well. It only took a few seconds for her to realize what it was which he wasn't telling. Zuko was forced to fight the agni kai against his own father.

Zuko would never forget what happened that day, and neither would Shaya. From the corner of her eye she had seen Iroh look away when it happened, but she couldn't bring herself to do the same. The shock sat too deep. She'd always known that Ozai was a vicious man, but she'd never thought him capable of this. She'd never thought anyone capable of it. That day she learned that the world must be truly cruel.

* * *

 **This story has been in my mind for ages! Finally started writing it down. I have a thing for making up my own characters, so here you go. This is just some kind of prologue. the actual story starts right before Zuko and Aang first meet, so enjoy :)**

 **P.S. I tend to get melanchonic sometimes, just bare with me there, sorry...haha**

 **I do not own Avatar or any of its characters, except Shaya**


	2. Blind

**Little trigger warning for this one. Angsty and painful flashback ahead. I can't really estimate wether it is really that bad, but just in case you know ;)**

* * *

 **1\. Blind**

Three years at sea, and Zuko knew that as soon as he had the Avatar and was back home, he would never set foot on a ship again. At least that's what he swore to himself when they were heading for the South Pole. It didn't matter whether you looked north, south, east or west; all you saw was water. Shaya had gotten used to the sight years ago, but Zuko refused to accept it.

Right now he was pacing up and down the deck of the ship while she watched him, sitting on the lower roof, her feet dangling off the edge. She had climbed on the roofs back in the palace, and had made a habit of it on the ship as well.

"You know, you should see the bright side of this" Shaya said. "At least we don't run into any of those annoying Navy Patrols, down here". Zuko looked up at her, scowling.

"Seriously?" he asked. Shaya cracked a small smirk. Zuko didn't see it from the distance.

"It can talk" she mumbled, playing surprise.

"Shut up!" Zuko cut in and marched back inside, under her feet. She looked down between her legs.

"Rude!" she shouted after him. She didn't actually want to tease him, but it was like he was asking for it.

If he wasn't shouting at someone or venting his frustration about his impossible task, Zuko hardly talked at all.

At first, Shaya had tried to talk to him about what had happened. But soon she realized that bringing up the Agni kai and his scar would do no good. To her it was strange that Zuko only ever saw the bad in things. To her these past three years had been full of adventures, new cultures and people. She loved being able to see all the new places they reached. And whenever they were at sea she would look up at the birds and down at the ocean, which seemed to be going on forever. She would breathe in the fresh air and a sense of freedom would wash over her.

Zuko seemed blind to all these things. All he recognized was the task at hand. He desperately wanted to go home and earn his father's approval.

But there were also days that Shaya was glad Zuko was so blind to his surroundings. They hadn't only seen nice things on their journey. They also came across a lot off suffering. They came across burned villages, abandoned farmlands, people who had lost everything all because of the Firenation. Red armies marched on and destroyed everything in their wake.

Shaya had seen the ugly face of war, and she had been devastated by it. Sometimes she hoped that they would never find the Avatar. To those people who suffered he was the last chance of hope. If they took that away from them, there would be nothing left to cling on to.

Zuko had gotten his own fair share of suffering, she knew that. Hell, she'd seen it with her own two eyes. He had never been the same after that day.

Zuko's injuries had barely healed when he was banished and sent to the small ship he would have to live on. Shaya hadn't seen him after the Agni kai. Nobody had been allowed into his chambers except for his uncle. The first time she did was when they boarded the ship. It had been clear from the beginning that Iroh would join Zuko. Shaya, not so much, at least not to Zuko.

There hadn't been much of a discussion when she had told Iroh that she wanted to join them. He had been against it at first, but leaving her at the palace with Azula and Firelord Ozai was not an option either. They would throw her onto the street as soon as Iroh was gone.

Zuko didn't know until he saw her following after Iroh, with a bag on her back and her sword over her shoulder. Surprise was written all over his half bandaged face.

"Did you really think you would get rid of me this way?" she had asked. He wanted to protest, but he could see that she was worried about him, and an argument wouldn't do well to either of them.

For lack of the right words he had merely nodded.

The following weeks were quiet, Zuko hardly spoke a word. He would only leave his cabin to eat with Iroh and Shaya, and even then he remained silent. Shaya had tried to talk, but every time he was gone too fast for her to react. He locked himself in his cabin and let no one in. One day was slightly different, though.

Iroh knocked on Zuko's door to tell him that dinner was ready. He didn't wait for a response because he knew there wasn't going to be any. At the dinner table Iroh and Shaya waited for almost half an hour.

"What's taking so long" Shaya asked. Iroh shrugged.

"I don't know. I told him that dinner was ready, like always" he replied. She got up from her place and walked out the door.

"I think I'll go check on him" she said over her shoulder.

"Good luck" Iroh let out a long sigh.

"Zuko?" She knocked on his door twice. "Didn't you hear Iroh? Dinner is ready" There was no response. "Come on Zuko, what's up?"

"Leave me alone!" his raspy voice shouted from the other side of the door. Shaya was startled for a moment, surprised to get a response at all.

"Zuko, what's going on?" she asked confused.

"I said, leave!" he shouted again, this time harder, and angrier. It also sounded a little pained.

"No!" Shaya was done with it. First he didn't talk at all, and now he was shouting at her as if everything was her fault.

Light came from under the door.

"Leave!" he shouted again. This time his shouting was accompanied by a blast of fire from under the door. Shaya jumped. The flames almost touched her feet.

"The hell I will do" she mumbled to herself. "That's it" Now she was angry. With a flick of her wrist she created a bright red flame on her index and middle finger. She pointed it at the lock of the door and in a matter of minutes the metal melted down. She'd almost burned her fingers doing so, but she was so done with Zuko's behavior she didn't even care.

"I'm coming in" she warned him "and I swear, if you're naked I will scream!" He remained silent. Shaya opened the door to his room. On the red sheets of his bed lay a pile of blood soaked bandages.

At first she didn't spot Zuko anywhere. When she stepped into the room she saw him standing at the sink on the other side of the room, his back towards her, his head facing the sink so he didn't have to look into the mirror before him. He clung with his hands on each side of the sink, slightly trembling. Shaya's anger had vanished immediately.

"I told you to leave me alone" he said, forcing himself not to shout again.

"You can't keep pushing people away forever" she merely said, and took a few steps towards him. "What did you do?" she asked, even though she could see, the bandages on the bed and the lack of them on the back of his head. When she got closer she could see the water in the sink had turned red as well. "You shouldn't mess around with that, it still needs to heal"

Zuko scoffed. "It's a scar, it will never heal". Shaya didn't reply to that. She carefully put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched. "Don't"

Instead of backing away she tightened her grip a bit. Zuko didn't say anything, he tensed up. A drop of blood fell from his chin into the sink.

The stayed like that for a while. Shaya patiently waited for him to relax, and eventually he did. She pulled him away from the sink carefully. He let her.

"Let me see it" she demanded. Zuko shook his head. "It can't be that bad" she said. He scoffed bitterly. "Come on" she pulled at his shoulder again to turn him around. He hesitated, but eventually he gave in. He turned his face towards her, first the unburnt side. There was anger and embarrassment, but for the most part pain in is expression.

The mark on the other side was wrinkled and bright red. It covered his left eye, and stopped behind his left ear. It had opened up a bit and there was blood dripping from a few wounds. It had probably been sticking to the bandages and Zuko must have ripped the flesh when he'd taken them off. It looked like he had tried to stop the bleeding by pressing the bandages back against it, which had only made it worse.

Shaya was holding his chin up, calmly examining the wound. Zuko refused to look at her and kept his gaze down. "Sit down, I'm going to get some fresh water and new bandages" she said. Zuko obeyed.

She picked up the basin from the sink and went to clean it up and refill it. While walking she thought about what just had happened. Zuko hadn't complained, he hadn't refused her help, which was very much unlike him. He had seemed worn out.

Back in the cabin she found Zuko exactly the same way she had left him. He was sitting on the bed, his elbows on his knees, looking at the floor. She put down the basin and drained a clean cloth in the water. "We've got to clean this up before we can bandage it again" she said while she sat down at his left side. When she tried to get any closer Zuko moved. He grabbed her wrist before she could get any closer with the cloth.

"Can't you just leave it?" He sounded a bit embarrassed. Shaya gently pulled his hand away.

"No, it could get infected, and that will only make things worse" Zuko let go of her hand and let her proceed. "Tell me when I'm hurting you"

"It doesn't hurt" he said, but when the cold cloth touched his face he couldn't help but flinch.

"Don't lie to me" she said. For the first time Zuko looked her into the eyes. He'd expected to see judgement or disgust, but there was none of that in her expression. Besides the worry there was only concentration for the task at hand.

When she noticed that he was looking at her, she cracked a small smile.

"Shay?"

"Hm?" she responded to the familiar nickname, without taking her eyes off the wound.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why did you even come with us?"

She looked at him as if it were the dumbest question she'd ever heard. "Because I'm your friend, silly. And friends help each other" she said obviously.

When she was done cleaning she took a look at the entirety of his face. "It doesn't look so bad you know" he looked away again.

"Don't lie to me" he repeated her sentence from earlier.

"Why did you take the bandages off, anyways? I'm sure the medic didn't tell you to"

"I wanted to see it" he admitted.

"And?"

"I look like a freak"

"I'm sure it will get better with time" she assured him.

"And what if it doesn't?"

"Then it doesn't, what does it matter? You're still you"

After that encounter Zuko came out of his cabin more often. He didn't pull off the bandages again. When the medic said he wouldn't need them anymore he didn't. Shaya had been right. The scar had gotten slightly better, not significantly though. At least not to Zuko. He had started to take leadership over the crew and was determined to succeed in his task of finding the Avatar. Although Shaya didn't like the idea of finding and capturing the world's last hope for peace, she was glad Zuko was at least doing _something_.

* * *

To Shaya, it seemed strange that regardless of what his father was putting him through, Zuko still wanted his love and approval.

However, she couldn't really relate either. Her father had been gone a lot but all the free time he had, he had spent with her. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have a father who didn't care about her, or even despised her.

* * *

"Hey lieutenant!" Shaya shouted when lieutenant Ji came walking onto deck. He looked up and cracked a smile.

"Lady Shaya, can be of any service?" he asked.

"Well for one, you can quit calling me a lady" that gave her a chuckle from the man.

"You're right, gambling with a bunch of rough sailors isn't so ladylike" that made her chuckle in return.

"About that, you still owe me five gold pieces" she reminded him. The smug smile on his face disappeared.

"I'd rather have a rematch to win them back" he tried to convince.

"Deal!" she said. "It would be nice to double my gains"

"Tonight, below deck. I think the cook would like a rematch with me as well" he informed her. Shaya laughed.

"More money for me, in that case" She winked and jumped off the roof to go back inside with the lieutenant.

She would play cards with the crew a lot. The men mostly liked her, except when she dragged the money out of their pockets during gambling.

At first they would think she was a little lady, and a battle ship was no place for a little lady. She had proven quite fast that she wasn't. Her fighting skills were fairly decent, she helped the crew where she could, even if the work was hard or dirty, and they loved her pipa playing during music night. Other than Zuko, she treated the crew like equals. She was always kind to them. Besides, she liked helping out. From Ling, the mechanic she had learned a lot about the engines of the ship. She could help him out when there were problems. In the kitchen she would sometimes make the stew for the crew, and the cook would complement her on her cooking skills. She didn't mind cleaning so much, either. Although her own room was a chaos. It didn't matter she didn't spend much time there anyways.

"How long until we reach the South Pole?" Zuko asked lieutenant Ji, when he walked into the room. Zuko and General Iroh were already sitting at the table waiting for dinner. Shaya joined them.

"If the weather won't make any problems, we should arrive there in about three days" the lieutenant informed.

"What makes you think the Avatar is on the South Pole?" Shaya asked.

"It's probably the most isolated place on earth; the perfect hiding spot" he replied. Shaya nodded.

"Seems kinda lonely, though. Don't you think?"

"Why would I care" he answered, disinterested.

* * *

 **Chapter one, ladies and one thing on this one: Shaya and Zuko are like family. They've known eachother since they were little kids, and they trust each other. With the flashback I wanted to show a bit of that trust. So, that's why Shaya is the first one to see Zuko's scar.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, even though it was a bit depressing at some point. Leave me some comments and tell me what you think of it. That would be great!**


End file.
